The event was suggested by the mayor of the Old Capital- Daniel Panov, who is chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Cultural and Historical Heritage” (AOSTKIN) and the National Association of Municipalities in Bulgaria. The organization of the future initiative was discussed during a meeting with representatives of the French National Association “Remarkable Sites and Cities”.
The main goal is to exchange experiences, practices and legislative solutions based on the French experience and applicable in the Balkan countries in the field of protection and maintenance of cultural monuments, buildings of architectural and cultural value, which are an integral part of the European cultural heritage.
The work meeting on October 6th , 2021 on behalf of the French Association was attended by the Director Ms. Marilise Ortiz,the Vice-president Jonathan Fedy and cultural heritage expert Jacky Cruchon. Along with Daniel Panov were Svetla Stefanova – Director of “AOSTKIN”, the cultural heritage expert – arch. Donka Koleva and Madlen Avramova from Alliance Française.
Daniel Panov pointed out that for years Veliko Tarnovo has been successfully partnering with the twin French city of Bayonne. These contacts are especially active in the field of documentation of immovable cultural heritage sites. The French model in the process of protection and restoration of old buildings, the legislation, the requirements to the owners and their responsibilities, as well as the possibilities for active intervention of the local government have been studied. However, the application of working practices is a matter of legislative change. We are working with the competent institutions for planning activities in the new program period related to preservation and restoration of ancient and valuable in artistic and cultural terms buildings. Currently, a number of municipalities are implementing projects for renovation of cultural infrastructure, and a significant part of the renovated buildings are with cultural heritage values. At the insistence of the municipalities, single-family buildings were included in the scope of energy efficiency measures in order to enable their owners to receive support in their efforts to maintain and restore the valuable sites. AOSTKIN Association and the Mayor and Chairman of National association of municipalities – Daniel Panov received an invitation to participate in the annual meeting and national congress of the Association “Remarkable Sites and Cities”, which will be held in 2022 in Dax, France.
